Sports Day (Japan’s National Holidays)

New Name Signals Change of Focus

Sports Day is held in Japan on the second Monday of October each year, although this name is relatively new. It was formerly known as Health and Sports Day, and was introduced in 1966 to commemorate the 1964 Tokyo Olympics. The holiday was celebrated on October 10, the date of the Olympic opening ceremony.

The 1964 Tokyo Olympics opening ceremony. (© Jiji)

Health and Sports Day was later moved to the second Monday in October. In 2018, it was renamed Sports Day to mark Tokyo’s successful bid to host the 2020 Olympics. In the former Japanese name for the day Taiiku no hi, the word taiiku literally means “physical education,” and the name change to Supōtsu no hi aimed to move the focus from school education to sports in general.

Uniquely Japanese Sports Days

In Japanese elementary and junior high schools, sports days used to be held on the national holiday. These are one of the biggest fixtures on a school’s calendar with a rich variety of events. Favorites include races, relays, dancing, and aerobics, as well as a ball-toss game called kōhaku tamaire in which two teams (red and white) vie to throw the most beanbags into a basket.

The popular game kōhaku tamaire. (© Pixta)

A school’s sports day used to be the biggest event of the autumn. However, climate change means that schools are increasingly rescheduling to spring to reduce the risk of heatstroke, while the need to cut the burden on teachers and other staff has also led some schools to reduce the scale of the event.

Data Sources

• National Holidays (Japanese) from the Cabinet Office.

(Translated from Japanese. Banner photo: Children running in a relay race at a school sports day. © Pixta.)